Turning Points
by night2frost
Summary: Goes along with my other Fan Fiction Define Family. This marks a turning point in each turtle child's childhood, Mikey's up first. Now, Donny. Next Leo. Finally Raph. Rating was raised for Donny's chapter.
1. Mikey

TMNT Fan Fiction

One shot: It starts with a game dude…

Disclaimer: Nope don't own them

Mikey's POV (age 8):

Donny has such neat stuff! He has this little remote control car that goes real fast and it is red and… and now he has a computer too! What do I have… a box of broken crayons and the Sunday newspaper to draw on. I want Donny's stuff! But when I go to play with his stuff I get sent to bed early. It's not fair!

I don't care if he built it, he is always building stuff, at least he can share the wealth. He built the radio, TV, water heater, oven, stove, refrigerator, and heating system and we all use those things so why can't I use Donny's computer. Raph and Leo don't care, they are always watching TV or practicing ninjitsu for Dad but I do.

That's how I found it. After being sent to bed early again, I waited until Dad was busy with Leo and Raph in the Dojo and Don with his computer, before sneaking out. That was hard because we share the same room, which made it all the more tempting for me to play with his stuff. It's not fair!

I wondered aimlessly around the tunnels until I saw it stuck among the refuse. The casing was cracked, it had a small computer like screen but it wasn't a computer. It was better then a computer! I don't know what it was but it had to be better because it was mine.

I flipped the switch to turn it on and… nothing happened. Why me? I can't fix this stuff and if I give it to Donny he will fix it and then it is his and if I told Dad then he will know I left the lair. Not fair, not fair, not fair! Wait, Donny's been doing this stuff since he was three, why can't I do it?

When I got home I snuck it into my bed and during my free time I was careful not to be seen as I cleaned it out, took it apart, studied all the pieces, and put it back together and flipped the switch and… nothing happened. For a whole week I kept at it, I even watched Don to see what he did to his stuff and tried to copy him but nothing worked. It was late in the night of the seventh day when a horrifying thought came to me, 'what if I never fix it?'

I turned over and buried my head in my pillow trying to stifle the sounds of my crying but Donny heard. He kept asking me what the matter was and if it was a bad dream until I broke down and told him, after pleading with him not to tell Dad or Leo and Raph because those two would tattle on me to Dad that I had left the lair. He agreed and then offered to fix it for me.

"No," I almost shouted, "then it will be yours and not mine and its mine I found it and I am going to fix it! But… but I can't. I tried and tried and tried!"

Don was quiet for a long time before he said, "Well if I show you how to fix it and you fix it then it well be yours." My mouth dropped open. I had never thought of that.

Over the next several nights he taught me how to repair and maintain my game dude. And when one night when we went out on a foraging trip for electrical stuff so Donny can make a microwave, he found me some game cartages. Then one night my game dude was working, I let Donny play with it, and Donny let me type on his computer. I was right, my game dude is better then a computer because it has fun games on it and not boring pages full of print, I get enough of that in school.

It's been over a year now and when Donny has time he will show me how fix other appliances around the lair as I help him by giving him the tools he needs. Donny knows everything even though he is starting to talk like he needs subtitles. I have to be careful not to slip up and use big words in front of my brothers and remind Donny that not everyone talks like he does or one day he really will need subtitles.

For my tenth birthday he found me a broken Walkman and told me that if I fix it, it is mine (that he gave me in secret while in public he gave me some more game cartridges for my game dude with Raph wondering where in the heck I gotten that annoying toy in the first place). It took me a week to repair the Walkman and even though it isn't as good as his repair jobs it still works.

Sometimes I would fix little things around the lair by myself but always in secret. I think Donny has never told anyone because he likes having a secret that just the two of us share and boy is it hard keeping a secrete with ninjas in the family!


	2. Ummm I can explain

TMNT Fan Fiction

One shot: Umm… I can explain

Disclaimer: Nope don't own them

Donny's POV (age 13):

I glared at my computer screen and then sifted my glare to a timid Mikey. He yelped and hid behind his bed. I slowly got up trying to install as much fear into my brother as I could as I slowly asked, "What…is…this?"

"A game…"

"Get out and leave me to fix this."

"Honestly I just thought that it was…"

"Out!"

With that Mikey yelps and runs out of our room. He probably thought that I was possessed or something, which right now, seems pretty close to the truth. I walked back over to my computer and sat down at it looking at the screen that was uploaded with its newest game. Sometimes Mikey would upload these kid games he found in the dump onto my computer and play for awhile before removing them so that I wouldn't catch him but really Mikey wasn't that good and some of those games were fun to play before I removed them. This time when I had walked in with Mikey sitting at my computer he had jumped up and tried to hide what he was doing from me. He seemed very embarrassed when I pulled him out of the way and found none other then Bunny's Palace on my computer with skimpily dressed girls that were taking off their clothes and doing… Can girls even do that or more importantly why would they want to. I can't believe Mikey but he might have uploaded it by accident, he is kind of naive in that way.

He is always getting in trouble and always in an innocent way, I think it is just his nature. But it was because of him that I ever stated doing anything major with electronics in the first place…

When we were about three years old, Mikey had fallen in the underground river in the middle of winter. We weren't supposed to leave the lair but Mikey had knocked his ball out the door and into the tunnel. Back then nothing worked well in our lair, not that we had much, but the door was one of the things that was always broken with the catch giving out with the merest tap. We went allowed near the door because of it. When Mikey walk through the door both Raph and Leo saw it and ran after him. Those two used to get along so well that I thought nothing would come between their friendship, I don't know what happened but back then they were like two halves of the same mind and that mind was saying get Mikey before he gets in trouble.

While Mikey was chasing his ball down the tunnel it fell into the underground river and Mikey went in after it. I don't know how Mikey managed to grab on to the stick that Leo and Raph held out for him but he did and by the time they had gotten back hypothermia was setting in.

Dad had just caught them entering the lair; he didn't know they had left because he was extracting me from some pipes. Back then I was curious about everything and got into everything but because we didn't have that many electronics I wasn't interested in them. However, when they had gotten back Dad started panicking and was trying everything to warm him up. Dad would have run a hot water bath but he hadn't had time to hook up the water heater and fix it since he brought it in yesterday.

Dad was yelling at Mikey to keep him awake and making him walk but it was a losing battle and I was afraid if he didn't warm up soon he would go to sleep and right now that was a bad thing. So, instead of standing around doing nothing like my other brothers I walked over to the water heater and started playing with it until it was working. It was lucky for me that Dad had everything that he thought that he needed already set up or I don't think I would figure it out. About an hour latter I had warm water running (not hot but good enough) and ran over to Dad to get his attention, Mikey was starting to fall asleep on the cold ground. Dad picked up Mikey and dumped him in the tub.

After that everyone thought I was a genius and wanted me to fix things for them. I didn't mind because it gave me more things to play with but it also meant a lot of reading. Dad was very grateful for the hot water but he was angry that I could have hurt myself fixing it. As a punishment he had me read a book on household repairs and even though I knew how to read small books, that large book had hurt my head as well as my foot every time I dropped it.

Unfortunately doing all those repairs took a lot of time and I barely had enough time to work on my own projects. Then one day Mikey woke me up crying over his game dude and how he couldn't fix it. He seemed so sad that I offered to help him and over time he got better at doing the minor repairs that I didn't have time for, this gave me time to build some amazing electric marvels that modern science hasn't even come up with. Even though Mikey helps me he also gets into my inventions and computer all the time causing havoc. Maybe I never should have helped him out…

"Donatello! What are you doing?" Master Splinter's voice demanded.

I jumped and turned around to look up at him but he wasn't looking at me but at the computer screen I had been staring through for who knows how long. The computer screen of mostly naked girls…

"Donatello, you will turn that off and come with me to have a little talk."

"But…"

"Now Donatello!"

I shut down the computer and followed Master Splinter into his room.

"Now, I realize that you are growing up and are curious about certain things…" Begin Father, "however, there is other ways of gaining that information in ways that do not exploit women. You will shut down that program and bring in other such material into this home, your to read this book on manners and this one on respect to females, and your to remain in your room for the rest of the day."

"But Mikey…" I said as Master Splinter pulled out two old volumes that looked to a century old and handed them to me.

"Mikey is a very innocent soul and you have to be careful not to sully it with such material, you may go now."

Latter on that evening, Mikey waltzed into our room and I glared at him over the tops of my assigned readings.

"What," he asked.

"This is your fault," I stated " you owe me big time and one day I am going to so collect."

"And if I wont let you…" he challenged.

"Then I will tell everyone that you are the turtle that has been repairing all the electronics around the lair and that you put that computer program on my computer. Then everyone will be coming to you to have things fixed and they wont fall for your childish behaviors; so, that when your not fixing things you will be practicing nijitsu and meditating because they will know better. As long as I keep quiet you get to enjoy your freedom but the moment I tell everyone the truth…"

"No, no don't tell! Please, I don't want to grow up and be a stick in the mud like Leo! I will do anything just tell me what it is!"

I knew that that would get to Mikey, if there was one thing he could stand to lose was his childhood and he clings to it like the security blanket he keeps on his bed. I think the others are beginning to think that there is something wrong with him. For a moment I begin to imagine all the things I could make him do but decided that they went big enough to qualify what he had done to me.

"Oh, I wont tell you now," I said lightly, "but I will collect one day and when I do you will know."

"OK Donny OK, just don't tell them," he begged.

It's amazing how easy it is to out bluff him. I mean I could tell them but Mikey's behavior is so flawless they would probably laugh at me. However, that is not important what is, is that Mikey believes me and will do what I want him to do one day. Now, I just have to remember not to forget.


	3. Best Friends

TMNT Fan Fiction

One shot: Best Friends

**Pacphs** - Yeah I know how little sisters can be, I have two of them. As for Mikey paying back Don, ummm the two stories I am writing are kind of linked though distantly (Turning Points and Define Family), Don's chapter is were Don started blackmailing Mikey and he used that blackmail in chapter 3 though Mikey tried to clear the state with Don several times before that.

Hummm… Raph, Leo, Raph, Leo, Raph, Leo, Raph, Leo, Raph, Leo, Raph, Leo…. Maybe flip a coin? Well, Leo's up (Sorry Raph and **Isis-Lament**).

Disclaimer: Nope don't own them

Leo's POV (age: about 2 yrs):

"Very good Leonardo!" said Daddy. I looked up and smiled at his praise. I just did a forward roll. This room that Daddy lets us play in is fun. When he takes us to this room we play games and do lots of tumbling. I know my brothers are loving it too.

"Very good Raphael!" said Daddy as Raphie did his perfectly too. We grinned at each other. Daddy needed to correct Mikey and Don's rolls before they could do it right. We could tell that it would take some time, Mikey was being silly and Don had taken a mental journey. Sometimes I think he is meditating like Daddy does, but Donny is standing when he does it. Raphie and I went to the other side of the room to practice our rolls.

(1-½ years latter):

After we were done training in the Dojo, we went into the kitchen to get some water. It took awhile for us to turn on the rusty spigot connected to the to a water pipeline. While we were drinking, Raph spoke up, "Hey, Donny when do you plan on making our kit-e-on look like the one's in the book."

Mikey snickered over how Raph stumbled over the word kitchen or was it how he was determine to talk like Dad. Raph frowned at him and Mikey held up his hands, "ook, I no kar ow I ond ut ew ond ie Dada. Epet en ew ake ataes. (Look, I no care how I sound but you sound like Dada. Except when you make mistakes.)" Ever since Mikey fell in the river he started talking like a one-year and acting like one too. We let it go because he acted like a baby before, saying things that don't make any sense like now.

"Well at least I don't talk like a baby," Raph replied, "So, Donny, when will you make it look better?"

It has been about three months since Donny has fixed the water heater so that we could have hot bathes every night. We loved splashing each other and learning to swim in the tub. Donny looked at our kitchen. There was a water spigot coming out of a water pipe above a cracked plastic bucket. Next to that was a weathered plank board on two bricks. Above us were cloth bags of food counterbalanced across the pipes with the rope going through holes in the bottom of the buckets that covered each bag of food so that rats couldn't get our food.

"Why," Donny asked, "I think it looks nice and Dad might not let me." Beside him Mikey was nodding in agreement. Raph looked desperately at me but all I could do was shrug, I liked our home the way it is too. Raph ran into our room shutting the door behind him as he went.

When he didn't come out an hour latter I went in to see if he was OK. I could see him in the candlelight coming from the ground by his bed, which consisted of blankets pillows and a sleeping bag for padding. He was lying on his bed clutching his pillow with a magazine lying open in front of him. I sat down next to him and looked at the magazine. It was full of all these pictures of other people's homes.

"That's a refrigerator," Raph sniffled pointing at a big white box, "it keeps food cold and rats out… our food would last longer."

"That sounds great," whispered in awe, not having enough food was always a problem and sometimes we went hungry because the rats ate our dinner first.

"That is a stove," he continued. For the next hour and a half he went through every room in these houses pointing at things he wanted so bad but we couldn't have. I even had to light my stub of a candle when his burnt out.

"What is that," I asked pointing to something on the page.

"That is a lamp, it is like a really bright candle and they run on ele- electricity so that we wont always be stumbling around in the dark," he explained.

"Maybe Donny will do this if we ask nicely," I said.

"I already did that," Raph said.

"Oh yeah…" I got up taking the magazine with me to show Donny and Raph followed. It didn't take long to have both Donny and Mikey drooling over the rooms in the magazine. However, Dad wouldn't let Donny work on anything until he finished reading his book. Two months latter he had finished reading it and started fixing up our home. I think Daddy was amazed at how fast he read it, what he didn't know was how much we were pestering Donny to finish the book.

I followed Raph into the kitchen after the extra training that we both put in. We each got a glass of water and Raph opened up the refrigerator to get some ice, which he put into our glasses. We just stood there and watched the ice float for a while.

"Thank you Leo," Raph said softly.

"Hey what are best friends for," I replied embarrassed.

"Yeah we are best friends and one day we will be the best ninjas together," Raph promised.

"Yeah," I replied, before we finish our water and went to find our brothers to play with.


	4. No Longer Friend

TMNT Fan Fiction

One shot: No Longer Friends

This one has angst in it but I don't think that Raph can be done without it; he is such a troubled soul.

Disclaimer: Nope don't own them

Raph's POV (age: about 10 yrs):

"Good job Leonardo," Sensei praised him. We are supposed to call Dad Sensei in the Dojo. It's my turn to do the spin kick.

"That was well done Raphael but you should practice a little more to smooth it out," Sensei tells me. Practice? I already practice a lot with Leo and my kick looks as good as Leo's so what did I do wrong.

All day I pondered what I had done wrong but didn't see it. Maybe I do need more practice.

I woke up an hour earlier than normal from a nightmare and decided to practice some more. While I was practicing my kick I kept returning to my nightmare of falling behind, Dad looking at me disappointed because I wasn't good enough and saying that he didn't love me any more.

A few minutes before everyone else was supposed to get up I snuck back into bed and pretended to be asleep. I didn't want anyone to know because if Dad knew that I wasn't perfect anymore then he might not love me.

During evening practice Sensei showed us a new kick. Leo did it perfectly on the first try. I was so nervous that I ended up tripping over my feet. I could hear Mikey and Donny laughing before a glare from Sensei quieted them.

"Take a deep breath, picture the move in your mind, and then when you think you can do it try again," Sensei instructed me. I followed his instruction and did the kick.

"Much better Raphael," Sensei said.

He said 'Much better' not 'very good' or 'good job', no, 'much better'. I need to practice more. I am falling behind. That night, I didn't get much sleep and got up two hours earlier to practice.

During dinner I almost fell asleep but I managed to finish dinner before heading to my soft warm beckoning bed. However, Leo was blocking my path.

"Are you feeling OK Raph?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah, fine," I replied, slightly edgy, already dreaming of sleep.

"OK because Sensei said we could practice some more tonight if you want," Leo said.

Sleep sounded so good but what if while I am sleeping Leo gets further ahead? I can't risk that, so I followed him into the dojo and two hours latter I got into bed. It felt like I had barely gone to sleep before the mini alarm clock, that Donny had made me, went off under my pillow. Only the thought of not making a mistake again today managed to get me out of bed.

A week had passed before I had made another mistake in punching, kicking, and taking a fall. The last really got me because I had my falls down pat for several years now. Maybe I just needed more practice and getting up an extra hour earlier wont kill me.

I was able to not make another mistake for another two weeks. Then I came in last on a training run. When my brothers asked me what the matter was, I told them to leave me alone and ran into my room. I was able to hide in there crying for fifteen minuets before Leo called me out for lunch. I didn't feel like food and let Mikey finish off most of my meal.

Everyday after that day I couldn't do anything right, I was the slowest and I tripped more times then not, and Sensei's words of encouragement only conveyed his disappointment in me. I tried to improve but no matter how early I got up or how much practice I put in when hiding in my room and the bathroom, it wasn't good enough.

Two weeks latter Sensei called me into his room to talk to me.

"I know you have hit some rough times in your training, Raphael" he said. "However, as long as you keep trying you will pull through and be a better ninja then ever for it."

When I left his room I felt like he had punched me in my stomach without touching me. Trying? What did he think I was doing? Why was I doing this anyways? I will never be perfect like Leo. Dad has one perfect son already why does he need another? He probably doesn't even love me anymore.

I entered my room to find Leo already in there on his bed reading. He didn't even glance up when I turned around and ran out of the room and then the lair.

I ran until I collapsed under a sewer grate somewhere far away from home and fell asleep. When I woke up I realized that it had been raining for several hours but I didn't care nor did I feel the cold. I just sat there listening to the people and wallowing in my misery.

When Dad found me it was late at night and I was asleep again.

A week had passed, during which I remained in bed slipping in and out of my fevered dreams full of my bothers laughing at me because Dad didn't love me anymore. I was a failure.

For one of my more lucid periods, Leo paid me a visit.

"Go away. I hate you." I told him.

"Why Raph?" he asked.

"Go away. Go be the Perfect Son, Splinter Jr." I said nastily.

"Fine Hothead," he snapped back whether about my temperament or temperature I don't know. "And that's a stupid accent you have, too."

Accent? What accent?

It was several weeks before I was allowed out of bed. When I could train again I was the furthest one behind.

I don't care, I tell myself as I practice alone in the comer.

I don't care I tell myself as Leo gets praises from Dad.

I don't care that Leo is smiling at Dad and Dad is smiling back at his perfect son.

I just don't care that I am not perfect.

I have to look away as anger wells up inside me, no I am not perfect, someone who is perfect doesn't get angry and I… don't... care…. anymore.


End file.
